44
votes
Moisture leaking out of chip in floor tile
I think your cracking the floor is a blessing in disguise. Clearly there is water under the tile that needs to be dealt with.
I'd start by checking the obvious things like the toilet seal and the ...
- 20.5k
41
votes
A guest pushed in my shower wall tile. How can I fix it?
So you have two options here
Whistle past the graveyard and caulk it up good. It will fail at some point, but maybe not today? (I don't really suggest doing this)
Rip it down and fix it. Because you ...
- 20k
36
votes
What spacing difference is acceptable with a contracted tile job?
When a professional installs a tile floor there should be no visible difference in the thickness of grout lines. I'm not sure what a hard measurement of percentage would be, but lets just say you ...
- 26.6k
26
votes
Expedient repair for water damaged drywall behind tile
Sorry, there is no shortcut here. It's likely damaged well beyond what you can see and the only fix is to tear that all out, remove the drywall that is likely crumbling, replace/repair any studs, ...
- 20.5k
24
votes
Expedient repair for water damaged drywall behind tile
With the COVID stuff going on the last thing you want to do is have your family have respiratory issues due to mold. There is mold growing behind your shower, probably on every shower wall. Money ...
- 46.2k
23
votes
Accepted
How can I cut off 1/8 inch from ceramic tile?
The best approach is a tile saw that can make small precise cuts along the length of a tile. It is a power tool like a table saw but uses a diamond impregnated blade and a water cooling system. They ...
- 33.1k
20
votes
Orange material in grout lines - need help to identify
Looks like schluter ditra waterproofing membrane.
Amazon describes it:
This universal underlayment specifically designed for ceramic and stone tile eliminates the main cause of cracking in your ...
- 4,122
18
votes
Can I build a concrete block wall over floor tile?
The tile floor shouldn't be a structural weakness, but if it's glazed you won't get a good mortar bond. I'd install anchor bolts every 32" or so, aligned with block cores, and fill those cores with ...
- 106k
18
votes
What is the best way to bridge a huge gap between hardwood and tile?
Updated based on revisions to the question.
The way I see it you have two options, neither of which is nearly as complicated as your proposed solution.
Install a tile accent row with a beveled or ...
- 106k
17
votes
Accepted
Am I breaking any design rules for the tile layout of this walls?
One issue that you don't seem to account for is that the cut edge of a tile is going to look slightly different than a factory edge. For some tiles, it's very obvious that you have a cut piece in the ...
- 26.6k
17
votes
Accepted
Stains in grout
As suggested by @Ecnerwal, I wrote to Custom Building Products' customer support. Got a reply within 15 minutes:
The isolated areas look to be a bit of sealer residue that might not have been wiped ...
- 391
17
votes
Why can't you install larger floor tiles without thinset/adhesive?
Let's assume your floor is really, totally, flat - to some absurd degree of precision.
Guess what! Your tiles are not. They are nominally flat, but have slight deviations due to the realities of ...
- 137k
16
votes
How can I speed up the removal of stubborn tile?
With these types of tiles you do not want them to break as they are harder to demo when they are in bits and shards. If you try to use a scraper (even power) what inevitably ends up happening is the ...
- 46.2k
16
votes
How can I cut off 1/8 inch from ceramic tile?
I own a pair of tile nippers - I bought them first, they were cheap. Unfortunately, they didn't work (pretty much "at all") on the tiles I was using - breaks would be more or less random.
So I bought ...
- 137k
16
votes
What spacing difference is acceptable with a contracted tile job?
The spacing is only the beginning...
The trim should be removed before OR they should have tucked the tile under the trim. This is actually funny because doing either one of these things would have ...
- 46.2k
16
votes
Expedient repair for water damaged drywall behind tile
You say you're looking for an expedient fix for the duration of the lockdown? That's pretty simple then. Buy a cheap shower curtain, cut it roughly to the size of the missing tiles, and Duck-tape it ...
- 1,779
15
votes
Floor tile layout process?
Software would be nice, but setting up your room diagram is probably more work than just trying your layout in reality. Plus, there's no substitute for actually seeing it in place.
I usually do this: ...
- 106k
14
votes
Accepted
How do I correctly install ceramic floor tile?
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. I have worked on about a half dozen seperate tile floors, though! These instructions are not meant for a shower wall or floor, just every day use floors like bathroom, ...
- 1,328
14
votes
Accepted
Remove tiles (and plywood underneath) around toilet without removing toilet
Anything is possible, but this falls under the Why On Earth Would You category.
Removing and reinstalling a toilet is a fairly simple job for even a novice DIYer. Don't let that intimidate you into ...
- 106k
14
votes
What is the best way to bridge a huge gap between hardwood and tile?
I think the solution can be even easier. Most hardware stores will carry uneven transition pieces. They're almost always wood and often are available in a variety of colored stains to match the wood ...
- 20k
13
votes
A guest pushed in my shower wall tile. How can I fix it?
Unless the person was huge and really slammed into the wall, this damage is evidence of a seriously substandard shower wall. In any case it needs to be demoed and redone.
If the tub or shower bottom ...
- 19.7k
13
votes
Accepted
Can I do ceramic tile directly on concrete?
There is a great explanation here (link also provided below), which I will quote and annotate here for discussion:
Do you have white water marks?
During rain events water may be pushed up by ...
- 10.3k
12
votes
Accepted
Has anyone seen kickback occur on a wet table saw for tile?
I've cut plenty of tile and don't recall kickback occurring, at least in the sense we think of with table saws. For one thing, the rotating mass of a 4" diamond wheel is a small fraction of that ...
- 106k
12
votes
Should I put tiles on refrigerator to protect against nearby heat?
Don't do it.
Ceramic is a poor thermal insulator. It's dense. It'll absorb a lot of heat, then it'll hold that heat. Against your refrigerator. Which will cause more problems than you originally had.
...
- 106k
11
votes
Can new wall go over tile floor?
The "correct" way to do it, is to remove or cut the tile where the wall will go. Whether or not you want to do that, is up to your personal preference.
- 128k
11
votes
grouting or caulking? bottom of tiled wall at tub rim
Caulking always! Fill the tub 50% with water and caulk it. Allow the caulking to dry then drain the tub. If you caulk with no water in the tub poly, fiberglass and composite tubs stretch and tear the ...
- 98.3k
11
votes
Why can't you install larger floor tiles without thinset/adhesive?
Thinset is required for several reasons:
Thinset will fill any voids to provide an even support of the tile, regardless the tile's irregulariy or the floor's unevenness.
Glue or thinset will ...
- 10.3k
10
votes
Moisture leaking out of chip in floor tile
It’s highly unlikely that “failed” grout would create the refill rate of wet flooring you describe. Most shower failures are generated by leaky or failing plumbing in the wall, behind the tile.
I ...
- 569
10
votes
Moisture leaking out of chip in floor tile
Call a plumber immediately!
This is uncomfortably close to my recent experiences..
My kitchen floor had a damaged tile (similar story, something got dropped on it) and water was welling up from under ...
- 201
10
votes
Has anyone seen kickback occur on a wet table saw for tile?
Kickback yes.
Kickback like most have experienced trying to push a 4x8 through a crappy table saw... no
What you will get with a tile saw is more of a blip. And the structure of the saw or table may ...
- 46.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible